Francisco Mignone
Encyclopedia
Francisco Paulo Mignone (September 3, 1897–February 19, 1986) is one of the most significant figures in Brazil
ian classical music, and one of the most significant Brazilian composers after Heitor Villa-Lobos
. In 1968 he was chosen as Brazilian composer of the year.
A graduate of the São Paulo Conservatory and then of the Milan Conservatory
, Mignone returned to São Paulo
in 1929 to teach harmony, and in 1933 took a post in Rio de Janeiro
at the Escola Nacional de Música. Mignone was a versatile composer, dividing his output nearly evenly between solo songs, piano pieces, chamber instrumental works
, orchestral works, and choral works. In addition, he wrote five opera
s and eight ballet
s.
Son of the Italian immigrant flutist Alferio Mignone, Francisco was already making his mark upon the musical world of Brazil by the time he was 10 years old, gaining notoriety around his district playing in the choro
style. A pianist and orchestra leader at 13, he had gained some fame composing and playing under the pseudonym of Chico Bororó, keeping these activities separate from his formal music training. His works may be divided into three compositional periods. His early works show the Italian influences and Romantic
sensibilities of his training in Milan. An orchestral piece from his first opera of this early period was premiered in Rio de Janeiro
by Richard Strauss
conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
, in 1923.
Much of Mignone's music is strongly nationalistic in flavor; influenced by the nationalistic movement of his former schoolmate and teacher, the musicologist and writer Mário de Andrade
, Mignone uses the folk and popular melodies and forms of his native Brazil as a basis for his compositions. (Andrade reportedly said, "In Italian music, Mignone will be one more among a rich and numerous school, to which he does not add anything. Here, he will be of indispensable value.") From 1929 until 1960 his work was most strongly characterized by this nationalism, during which he composed such pieces as the Fantasias Brasileiras and his ballets Maracatu de chico rei and Leilão. His solo vocal and piano works of this time earned him particular acclaim for their expression of Brazilian musical styles, such as the choro
, the modinha
, and the valsas (waltzes) reminiscent of strolling serenaders.
Mignone's music is noted for its lyricism, colorful instrumentation, and improvisatory style. Most of his early works are tonal, as is typical of the popular and folk music, though later in his career he branched out into polytonal, atonal, and serial writing. In the late 1950s Mignone drifted away from the nationalistic music and toward the then-current trends in academic concert music, composing works such as his 1958 Piano Concerto, which showcase his skillful instrumentation and bravura writing. Mignone was capable of writing in a variety of styles and his works of the early 1960s and beyond are noted for their eclecticism; it is difficult to find any other unifying feature. However, he returned to nationalistic writing toward his last few years.
At the age of 83 Mignone married Maria Josephina, with whom he frequently played duets; she remains an interpreter of his music to this day.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian classical music, and one of the most significant Brazilian composers after Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...
. In 1968 he was chosen as Brazilian composer of the year.
A graduate of the São Paulo Conservatory and then of the Milan Conservatory
Milan Conservatory
The Milan Conservatory is a college of music which was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year with premises in the cloisters of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Passione. There were initially 18 boarders,...
, Mignone returned to São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
in 1929 to teach harmony, and in 1933 took a post in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
at the Escola Nacional de Música. Mignone was a versatile composer, dividing his output nearly evenly between solo songs, piano pieces, chamber instrumental works
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
, orchestral works, and choral works. In addition, he wrote five opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s and eight ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
s.
Son of the Italian immigrant flutist Alferio Mignone, Francisco was already making his mark upon the musical world of Brazil by the time he was 10 years old, gaining notoriety around his district playing in the choro
Choro
Choro , traditionally called chorinho , is a Brazilian popular music instrumental style. Its origins are in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. In spite of the name, the style often has a fast and happy rhythm, characterized by virtuosity, improvisation, subtile modulations and full of syncopation and...
style. A pianist and orchestra leader at 13, he had gained some fame composing and playing under the pseudonym of Chico Bororó, keeping these activities separate from his formal music training. His works may be divided into three compositional periods. His early works show the Italian influences and Romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
sensibilities of his training in Milan. An orchestral piece from his first opera of this early period was premiered in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
by Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
The Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
, in 1923.
Much of Mignone's music is strongly nationalistic in flavor; influenced by the nationalistic movement of his former schoolmate and teacher, the musicologist and writer Mário de Andrade
Mário de Andrade
Mário Raul de Morais Andrade was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. One of the founders of Brazilian modernism, he virtually created modern Brazilian poetry with the publication of his Paulicéia Desvairada in 1922...
, Mignone uses the folk and popular melodies and forms of his native Brazil as a basis for his compositions. (Andrade reportedly said, "In Italian music, Mignone will be one more among a rich and numerous school, to which he does not add anything. Here, he will be of indispensable value.") From 1929 until 1960 his work was most strongly characterized by this nationalism, during which he composed such pieces as the Fantasias Brasileiras and his ballets Maracatu de chico rei and Leilão. His solo vocal and piano works of this time earned him particular acclaim for their expression of Brazilian musical styles, such as the choro
Choro
Choro , traditionally called chorinho , is a Brazilian popular music instrumental style. Its origins are in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. In spite of the name, the style often has a fast and happy rhythm, characterized by virtuosity, improvisation, subtile modulations and full of syncopation and...
, the modinha
Modinha
A modinha is a type of sentimental love song. The modinha is of uncertain origin, but it may have evolved in either Brazil or Portugal. Around the end of 18th Century, Domingos Caldas Barbosa wrote a series of modinhas that were extremely popular, especially in salons, and so can be termed salon...
, and the valsas (waltzes) reminiscent of strolling serenaders.
Mignone's music is noted for its lyricism, colorful instrumentation, and improvisatory style. Most of his early works are tonal, as is typical of the popular and folk music, though later in his career he branched out into polytonal, atonal, and serial writing. In the late 1950s Mignone drifted away from the nationalistic music and toward the then-current trends in academic concert music, composing works such as his 1958 Piano Concerto, which showcase his skillful instrumentation and bravura writing. Mignone was capable of writing in a variety of styles and his works of the early 1960s and beyond are noted for their eclecticism; it is difficult to find any other unifying feature. However, he returned to nationalistic writing toward his last few years.
At the age of 83 Mignone married Maria Josephina, with whom he frequently played duets; she remains an interpreter of his music to this day.
Notable works
- O contratador de diamantes, opera, 1921
- Congada (from O contratador), orchestra, 1921
- L'innocente, opera, 1928
- Seis líricas, vocal, 1932
- Maracatu de chico rei, ballet, 1933
- Variações sobre um tema brasileiro, cello and orchestra, 1935
- Fantasias brasileiras nos.1–4, piano and orchestra, 1929-1936
- Babaloxá, orchestra, 1936
- Mizú, operetta, 1937
- Quatro líricas, vocal, 1938
- Festa das igrejas, orchestra, 1940
- Leilão, ballet, 1941
- O espantalho, ballet, 1941
- Iara, ballet, 1942
- Pousa a mão na minha testa, vocal, 1942
- Valsas de esquina nos.1–12, piano, 1938–43
- O guarda chuva, ballet, 1953
- Valsas choros 1–12, piano, 1946-55
- Piano Concerto, 1958
- Tres Valsas Brasileiras (1968) Viola e Piano
- Sugestões sinfônicas, tone poem-ballet, 1969
- Doze Estudos, guitar, 1970
- Variações em busca de um tema, orchestra, 1972
- O chalaça, opera, 1973
- O sargento de milícias, opera, 1978
- Quincas Berro d'Agua, ballet, 1979
- Valsa brasileira nos.4–12, piano, 1979
- O Caçador de esmeraldas, ballet, 1980
External links
- About Francisco Mignone (with MIDI scores)
- Fantasia Brasileira no. 4 performed by Alexandra Mascolo-David and the Kalamazoo Symphony OrchestraKalamazoo Symphony OrchestraThe Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1921 and is now the third largest professional orchestra in Michigan. During the 2005–2006 concert season, the orchestra played for more than 100,000 people in more than 30 concerts...
on WGBHWGBH (FM)WGBH is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member station of NPR and PRI. The license-holder is the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns WGBH-TV and WGBX-TV....